Phillies pick up $9M option on José Alvarado’s contract for 2026
After an 80-game suspension cost him much of the 2025 season and the playoffs, Alvarado returns to team with closer Jhoan Duran in the Phillies’ bullpen.
José Alvarado is back for next season.
The Phillies announced Wednesday that they had picked up the left-hander’s $9 million team option for 2026.
Alvarado started the 2025 season strong, with a 2.70 ERA in his first 20 innings. But it came to a halt on May 18, when MLB announced that Alvarado had tested positive for exogenous testosterone, a performance-enhancing substance. Alvarado received an 80-game suspension, and was also ineligible to pitch in the postseason.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Alvarado took the drug to lose weight.
» READ MORE: Hayes: Phillies wisely pick up José Alvarado’s option. They’d be wiser still to trade Nick Castellanos ASAP
Once Alvarado returned to the team in August, he had less success, allowing three homers and three walks in six innings and posting a 1.667 WHIP. Alvarado was shut down with a forearm strain on Sept. 12.
Over his nine-year career, Alvarado has a 3.47 ERA with 52 saves.
Alvarado returns to a new-look bullpen, one that is now built around closer Jhoan Duran.
Father's Day will hit a little differently this year for Don and Preston Mattingly. After years of working in baseball for different teams, often on opposite sides of the country, they are together with the Phillies as the first father-and-son manager-and-GM combination ever. Preston Mattingly joins Phillies Extra to discuss working with his dad, as well as the Phillies' decision to demote Andrew Painter to the minors and their preparations for the trade deadline. Watch here.
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